Dear Band together, Calderdale Liberal Democrats have a proud history of campaigning for local services and this local hospital. Dr Bob Heys was involved in CASH (Calderdale Against a Smaller Hospital) when the hospital built was smaller than its predecessor. The late Stephen Pearson a former Calderdale Councillor led a vocal campaign against the awful PFI deal that has saddled the hospital with debt. Personally speaking I owe my life to the NHS whose surgeons saved me from a melanoma, as does my son who was born in the local hospital. I thought we needed a cross-party and inclusive campaign ...
This evening, I attended a well-attended meeting of West End Community Council. There was a presentation by Ewan Duncan of Tayside Contracts on the proposal for new facilities at the Riverside Civic Amenity Centre for the recycling aggregates, and purifying waste water and gully waste. We also discussed the Royal Bank of Scotland's proposal to close their Perth Road Branch. It is very clear that the community is solidly against this proposal. You can sign the petition against the closure here. There was also an update from Solar Cities Scotland on their various projects in the West End, including their ...
People often criticise politicians for sniping, instead of working together to solve problems. Today, Women's Minister Nicky Morgan, and her Shadow Gloria De Piero, brought together women MPs from across Parliament. They were highlighting the #bringbackourgirls campaign, to keep pressure on the Nigerian government to secure the release of nearly 300 school girls captured by Islamist militants. Female UK MPs are supporting international efforts to #BringBackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/chnPLl70q2 — Nicky Morgan MP (@NickyMorgan01) May 13, 2014
Read more about the project - the concrete weir you will see if you follow that link no longer exists.
Read about just some of the campaign successes in the last few months for Richard Wilson and Haringey Liberal Democrats, working with residents to get the best for our borough: [IMG: A record of action in Haringey] And of course with a record of action goes a promise of more – so do take a read of our 2014 Haringey Council elections manifesto, including our top six priorities.
The Guardian reports: The top European court has backed the "right to be forgotten" and said Google must delete "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant" data from its results when a member of the public requests it.Is this workable? Will judges' idea of what is relevant be the same as that of the wider public? And, most importantly, will it be members of the public who make most use of this power? The press release from the Court of Justice of the European Union that accompanies the judgment does allow for the idea that those in power should find it ...
I promised I would return to the Liberal Party 1929 canvasser's guide , so here we are.The guide begins with general guidance which I will come back to but I thought we should start with policy
Tue 13th
19:41
Muswell Hill family shell-shocked as tortoise who defied Hitler comes back from the dead
The Ham & High Broadway wins our Headline of the Day Award. The judges asked me to give an Honourable Mention to the Leicester Mercury for: Friends go naked for charity in memory of 'inspirational' horse rider killed in accident
A few days ago I had the great privilege of speaking at DFID Mozambique's summit on ending Child and Early Forced Marriage (CEFM). [IMG: Lynne Featherstone speaking in Mozambique. Picture: Julia Smith/DFID] Mozambique has one of the highest rates of CEFM in the world, with around one in two girls married before their 18th birthday. It is a problem that until recently has been not been given enough attention and was considered a taboo subject, not just in Mozambique but in many other countries as well. In the last decade 58 million women in developing countries, that is one in ...
Developers have submitted a planning application to build 49 houses and 9 flats on the former Rodford School site. The site is where the school buildings used to be, nearest to Barnwood Road. (The development does NOT affect the field between Chargrove, Glenfall and Prestbury) Yate Town Council has objected to the housing on the grounds of design, layout and the density of the development. There is also local concern about proposed works to remove Tree Protection Order status from some inconveniently located existing trees - presumably they would be cut down. The trees and hedges have historic value because ...
This week the police asked someone to remove a tweet about the ten UKIP policies that I listed in yesterday's blog. I am concerned that the police don't know how tweets work. I am more concerned that they tried to stifle political debate. I am even more concerned that the police acted on a complaint from a UKIP councillor even though there was nothing illegal. The police should have enough to do maintaining law and order. However I save my greatest concern for UKIP policies themselves - and if polls are anything to go by, they will receive votes for ...
Angelika, Christian and I are IN. use the link to see why.
Tue 13th
17:43
D.C. Lobbyist pushing for a homophobic bill that would ban gay professional athletes in the USA
Well that isn't a blog post title I ever expected to write. Every so often I get Press Releases via the blog. In recent weeks I have started to get quite a lot. I usually scan read them and then do nothing with them. I'm quite busy at the moment working on two large projects outside of work, firstly the locals elections and secondly my weight. When you are working out for two hours a day then your free time suddenly dissipates rather quickly. So anyway I got a Press Release this afternoon entitled, 'DC Lobbyist Boycott of Visa, Rams ...
Liberal Democrat councillors at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council have re-elected Councillor Glyn Nightingale as their group leader.Glyn, a retired teacher, represents the Ormesby ward and has been group leader since 2011. He will also speak for the group on finance.Deputy Leader will be Cllr Josh Mason from Redcar (Zetland ward), who at 25 is one of the youngest councillors in the country. The Lib Dem Group will be chaired by Cllr Mike Carling, who takes over from Cllr Irene Nightingale.The Lib Dem Group also elected its Shadow Cabinet for the next year. Cllr Mike Carling will speak on highways, ...
[IMG: ultra-micro economics] In the heady days of the Thatcher government, when the hideous mistakes of Big Bang were being forged and coming to fruition, I used to run an excellent magazine called Town & Country Planning. In those days, we were extremely exercised by the idea of the huge and mounting cost of rundown private sector homes. Who was going to repair them? We don't talk about that problem any more. This is not because it was ever exactly solved, but because of one of the more benevolent effect of rising house prices, before the oligarchs came in, was ...
It started gloriously with Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin at the Met. It had pretty much a dream cast: Anna Netrebko as Tatiana, Piotr Beczala as Lensky and Mariusz Kwiecen as Onegin. You can read more about my praise here Shostokovich's The Nose was certainly the most bizzare opera I've seen so far. In the end of [...]
The decision by Orbit Books UK not to include any of their nominated books in the Hugo Voter Packet is truly ridiculous. When Tor include ebooks of all fifteen volumes of the Wheel Of Time in the packet while Orbit include precisely no books (against the authors' wishes), one of those publishers has the right [...]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NA1RcE3s4 This amusing youtube video sums up Labour's 'what do we do or say about UKIP' dilemma. Ed is seemingly afraid to debate with UKIP, he is worried that working class Labour voters will defect to UKIP and is unwilling to challenge this deeply illiberal Party – UKIP I mean in case you were wondering!. Nick Clegg takes a lot of stick from the right wing press, because he often stops right wing Tories doing mad things in Parliament, but he was the only political leader willing to take on UKIP and he deserves credit for doing what Cameron and ...
Tue 13th
16:15
The Independent View: Outsourcing companies aren't trusted - Liberal Democrats must show they are ta...
[IMG: sick of serco] Last week We Own It released new polling which shows that outsourcing companies are trusted less than central government, the civil service, the police service and the NHS. 64% of the public distrust companies like Atos, Capita, G4S and Serco while only 21% trust them. Only 16% think there is currently adequate regulation of private companies running public services. Political parties ignore public reactions like these at their peril. We Own It is an organisation that campaigns for public service users and for public ownership. Last Thursday Serco held its AGM and we took the opportunity ...
Dan Hodges is at his devastating best in today's Telegraph, clinically dismantling Labour's vapid election strategy: For the last two years Labour has been trying to peddle the falsehood that it could win the election without establishing a reputation for basic economic competence. They could pull some magic trick - Ed Miliband's aides referred it as "reframing the debate" - which meant that even though voters didn't trust them to run the economy, they would be persuaded to trust them with something called "the real economy". According to Labour's argument, the Tories would always be ahead on macroeconomics, the economics ...
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams and lead candidate Alec Dauncey launched the party's European Parliamentary election manifesto today. Kirsty said of the manifesto, labelled In Europe, In Work, that it makes clear "that being pro-European also means being pro-reform. While we are committed to remaining part of the EU, we are also committed to reforming it." There is more on the Freedom Central web site.
We've had confirmation that the courts have granted the eviction order for the travellers on the playing field behind Grange Park Road, Cheadle and they have to leave by 1pm Wednesday.
[IMG: no one ever told me about politics] "I've been wanting to be more clued-up on politics for a while – and I know lots of other people my age feel the same way – but it always seems so complicated and it's hard to know where to start". Kate, 25 A few days ago, a year ahead of the next UK general election, a new cross-party initiative called No One Ever Told Me About Politics was launched to tackle the pressing issue of political disengagement amongst people in their 20s and 30s. The challenge is significant: 68% of people ...
John Oliver's new comedy show Last Week Tonight already looks like a real gem. Here's his rather good take on the nonsensical climate change debate: Filed under: Uncategorized
[IMG: edward mcmillan-scott] Edward McMillan-Scott is the Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber , but also the European Parliament's Vice President for Human Rights. He has written an article for the latest edition of the European Parliament's monthly magazine, EP Today, to mark Europe Day. He writes: Despite the profound changes the world has undergone since the fall of the Berlin wall, torture, unlawful imprisonment and genocide still haunt us. That is why the end of the European Parliament's mandate is an opportunity to review the vital work done by the EU ensure the promotion and protection of ...
Currently I see a number of memes that purport to be about being a patriot Britain, from Britain First. A few facts:- · Formed by James Dowson (ex BNP), he is a rather vile man with vile views. A 'militant anti-abortionist' (Daily Record 3rd June 2009), comparing abortion to the Holocaust, which is slightly at odds with the links his organisation has with Paul Golding and his admiration with Hitler (Hope Not Hate). They also claim that they deny any hatred of Jews. · Golding himself is a piece of work too: being as he was a member of the ...
Yesterday I drew attention to an act of rebellion by Welsh Conservative AM, Bryon Davies, who is boycotting meetings of the Enterprise and Business Committee until his leader reinstates Nick Ramsey as chair. It does not look as if either is giving way soon. As has been noted previously though, Byron Davies is not the only member of the Welsh Conservative Assembly Group who is prepared to disagree publicly with his group leader. Antoinette Sandbach is doing a pretty good job through twitter as is evidenced in the screenshot above. Her tweet was posted during a leaders debate on ITV ...
Today the Echo published its Liverpool elections review and Radio Merseyside did its review on the Snelly programme. So I thought I would add in my two pennorth! Personal news first. My pedometer tells me that as of last ... Continue reading →
The sustrans organisation has just launched it's new campaign ahead of the elections manifesto's being produced by the political parties for the 2015 general election (yes, I know, we're not even though this election cycle yet but it's never too early! ... Apparently). The key element of this campaign is improving safety for children during the school run. The website with more information is available here; http://www.sustrans.org.uk/safetoschool I've taken the opportunity to contact Andrew Lansley MP (our MP here in South Cambs) and I'd encourage you to do the same. With the upcoming A14 upgrade it's vital that money is ...
Tue 13th
12:52Norman Lamb writes ... we must fight for mental health to get the recognition it needs
[IMG: Mental health - bipolar - Some rights reserved by Mrs TeePot] In my time as Mental Health minister, I have written here several times about the unacceptable disparity between mental health and physical health in our health system. For far too long, physical health has been prioritised over mental health. Perhaps the most stark difference is in terms of what happens when you suffer a mental health crisis. If you break your arm or suffer a stroke, you know that you will be taken to A&E, where you will get access to the expertise you need. It's very different ...
Disabled grandmother, Florence Hawkes has to take a taxi for the two minute journey from her home to Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital because she cannot cross the notorious Queen Edith's Way roundabout. Mrs Hawkes, 84, of Fendon Close pays £3.40 out of her pension every six weeks to make the quarter of a mile trip because she says traffic coming from all directions makes it impossible to cross. And she fears for the safety of her grandchildren who cycle to school across the busy junction which links Fendon Road, Mowbray Road and Queen Edith's Way. Cambridge Liberal Democrat election candidate for ...
It's been overhanging Broad Street for as long as many people can remember. But now the De Grey's shop sign looks set to go. Ludlow's much loved, but sadly closed, café has been taken over by Wildwood. I asked what would happen to the elegant sign that hangs over Broad Street. The agents for the [...]
Of all weeks, this is a week when we didn't need any extra stress. We have a child who needs calmness and routine at the best of times These things are most important when she has a whole load of ... Continue reading →
Tue 13th
11:50The Independent View: Harnessing the "BuzzFeed" effect to boost turnout in the Euro elections
Only 26% are certain to vote in the European elections, and 77% say they know less about the issues in a European election than a general election, according to the Hansard Society. At Unlock Democracy, we've been looking at new techniques to combat low turnout and the worrying lack of political knowledge about European institutions. For the European elections, we worked with organisations from 14 countries across the EU to produce Vote Match Europe, an online quiz app which matches user to the parties that best represent their views in the European elections, based on the issues which they select ...
[IMG: david cameron nick clegg free schools] There's a new item in the Guardian today about David Cameron calling for an end to coalition in-fighting. There has been a lot of chin wagging about a difference in approach to Free Schools policy and the Prime Minister has finally stepped in. Some in the Tory ranks will say this is unneeded; if the Lib Dems want to walk at this stage, so much the better. Differentiation opportunities, all that sort of thing, plus the chance to be rid of the "yellow peril". But I suspect Cameron knows that he might need ...
I can't quite get my head around the outrage over the Gary Barlow tax avoidance (note: not tax evasion) story. Margaret Hodge MP has actually suggested that he should give back his OBE! What a joke! Let us be under no illusions. Loopholes exist because politicians put them there. Holes in the tax code are created by politicians and politicians alone. Politicians are fully responsible for them and could get rid of them if they wanted to. For politicians to heap all the blame on Barlow is incredulous. The thing about loopholes is this: why would anyone pay more tax ...
Here can be found a report on Irish TV about the numbers of people going from the UK to ireland (which I don't recommend) - 48 last year. This is a report from Emily Sparkes, a mother in Spain
The Welsh Liberal Democrats today launched their 2014 European Manifesto: 'In Europe, In Work' at the Cardiff based global technology company IQE. This follows IQE's announcement today that they are to participate in a €23M European-based production project. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are making the case that being pro-European means being pro-reform. The manifesto sets out the party's priorities for the European Parliament, including measures to: • create more jobs from trade within Europe; • help fight crime across Europe; • protect the environment and create green jobs; • reform the EU to cut waste and protect the UK's influence ...
Taking a document, turning it into an electronic format suitable for the online world and putting in on a website has much to commend it. It's something I've done often enough myself. But only if you realise that those are just preparatory steps to getting the document read online, just like firing up your wordprocessing software is the preparatory step to writing three brilliant chapters. (Or, in my case, three not-quite-brilliant chapters.) It's something the World Bank is to be commended for getting to grips with: [IMG: World Bank pdfs graph] What if someone had already figured out the answers ...
All those Liberal Democrat constituencies where the current member of the Westminster parliament is standing down have now completed their selection of candidates for the 2015 general election. The list is as follows (name of retiring MP in brackets): Bath (Don Foster): Steve Bradley Berwick on Tweed (Sir Alan Beith): Julie Pörksen Brent Central (Sarah Teather) Ibrahim Taguiri Mid Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke): Vikki Slade North East Fife (Sir Menzies Campbell): Tim Brett Gordon (Sir Malcolm Bruce): Christine Jardine Hazel Grove (Sir Andrew Stunell): Lisa Smart Somerton and Frome (David Heath): Sarah Yong
[IMG: HTC HD7 8] It's not a surprise to say far more people use social media now than when I first learnt political campaigning because Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the whole lot didn't even exist back then. Nor even did (glory be, you might think) Internet Explorer. Back when a beta version of Netscape was cutting edge, the scope for successful online political campaigning was tiny compared to now, when there are more people on the electoral register who use social media than will vote next week. But the story of the last few decades isn't just about the rise ...
Today the FT's excellent Janan Ganesh writes on how the British Conservatives are failing to get the ethnic minority vote (£). Also this morning two opinion polls showed that the Labour Party had lost its poll lead to the Conservatives. We can add the Liberal Democrats and the Greens to the list of underperforming political parties in Britain, leaving the field clear for the insurgent Ukip. Mr Ganesh points to a reason for the Conservatives' failure, that applies just as much to others (except the Greens perhaps). Mr Ganesh says that the problem is that politicians "...think politics is about ...
On Saturday I took these pictures around the town. A frankly, unbelievable quantity of illegal fly-posting. Someone has shown great exuberance and placed posters for a funfair EVERYWHERE. Whilst the Town Council's railings on The Green are appropriate, the other locations that include Co-op hoardings, church car park, railings at Bedford Sq, electricity sub station Tithe Farm Rd, roundabout at Chequers including railings at side and at central reservations, and tied to sundry poles and posts throughout the central area are not acceptable. Given that the posters are all for T G Smith's funfair, I was hoping that CBC officers ...
Why are women so 'unhappy'? (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Local voluntary groups can now apply for a grant of up to £3,000 from South Gloucestershire Council to benefit their local community. The old grant system has been streamlined and the Area Forums will be making a decision on grants up to four times per year. The grants are available to groups to develop specific projects and provide activities that meet local needs. Projects can include a range of topics including arts and culture, sport, children and play, community safety, developing communities, supporting vulnerable people to promoting equality and tackling poverty. If you would like to apply for funding, applications ...
I've been happy to sign up to support the 'Space for Cycling' Campaign. This is a national campaign to get local councils to ensure they think about cyclists when making decisions on roads and transport. [IMG: Screenshot 2014-05-13 08.32.05] The campaign is asking local councils to think about how they can make decisions which can create a good cycle network, which would mean people of any age or ability could travel safely and confidently in safe conditions. Broadly speaking this requires a combination of: - Protected space for cycling along or when crossing major roads and junctions. - Low traffic ...
I have received residents' complaints about graffiti on the north side of Clayhills Drive (see right). I have reported this to the City Council's Rapid Response Team requesting that the graffiti is removed.
Tue 13th
08:29Devo 15: Lord Jim Wallace writes.. Next 15 years represents inspiring opportunity to build on devolu...
[IMG: Scottish Parliament 23 May 06 061] Before going in to address a class of first year law students at Aberdeen University, last November, the head of the Law School took me aside and said, "Just to be aware. Most of your audience can't remember a Scotland without a Scottish Parliament." And, of course, these students were only about four years old, when the first elections to that Parliament were held fifteen years ago last week. To those of us who campaigned so long and hard to create the Parliament, it doesn't seem so long ago. But that a new ...
Polling day for the 2014 Local and European elections is on Thursday 22 May 2014. This is later than 'normal' because elections for the European Parliament take place over the same weekend across Europe. It is too late to apply for a postal vote for this year's election now, but if you are not going to be able to vote there is still time (just!) to apply for a proxy vote (where you give someone else permission to vote on your behalf. The deadline for a proxy vote is 5.00pm on Wednesday 14 May 2014 – 5.00pm. After this time ...
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 57547 Registration Date: 09/05/2014 Location: 10 Sunnyfield Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 2RD Proposal: Single storey extensions at side and rear Full details are on the Council's website here. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries or require help or information. Tim
A new leaflet is being delivered across Bar Hill, Dry Drayton, Boxworth and Lolworth introducing Andy Pellew, Bar Hill Parish Councillor and Liberal Democrat candidate in the upcoming South Cambridgeshire District Council Election. The pieces of election literature is available via the independent "Election Leaflets" website; http://www.electionleaflets.org/leaflets/7980/ This contains the stories; Ready to keep up the good work ...... working hard in our community ALL year round!UK economy grows by 0.8%A quarter of a million Brits to be given EU grants to study and train abroadIf you'd like to help deliver this to your street or area please get in ...
A move to change the law to ban employers from offering long-term unpaid internships is being backed by Cambridge MP Julian Huppert. Julian is co-sponsoring a Bill to be presented to Parliament which, if successful, would mean a change in the regulations governing internships. "Internships offer valuable experience for school-leavers, graduates and the unemployed to get that all important foot on the job ladder," said Julian. "But many people have found them beyond their reach because they cannot afford to work for nothing. "People find themselves in a Catch 22 situation - they cannot get a job because they don't ...
The Council's Trading Standards team have issued the following useful advice to help residents protect themselves from websites, letters, phone calls or doorstep sellers - whose offers sometimes 'sound too good to be true'? [IMG: image001 (1)] Trading standards are calling on Bury residents to be on the lookout for dodgy dealers - and report them. In partnership with the Citizens Advice Bureau, they are running Scams Awareness Month in May. Scams can range from bogus online adverts to tricksters using dating websites to build relationships with people they later defraud. Other common types including 'phishing' emails and 'vishing' phone ...
I mentioned this truly magnificent building in a recent posting about Maghull Wind Orchestra, who gave a concert there on Sunday 27th April. Here are some photo's of the Palm House :- [IMG: rsz_sefton_park_palm_house] [IMG: rsz_inside_the_palm_house] [IMG: rsz_palm_house_spiral_stairs] [IMG: This statue of Darwin is one of a number outside and around the Palm House. I call it looking up to Darwin because we all do so.] This statue of Charles Darwin is one of a number outside and around the Palm House. I call it 'looking up to Darwin' because he was a truly great scientist/explorer/naturalist. Click to enlarge ...
